| This paper is a comparative study of the entire historical development of mediation in China and the US. Through describing the selected stories of mediation use in both countries, this study examines the Chinese and American mediation traditions and their modern advancement, indicates possible trends in their future development, analyzes their major differences and similarities, and draws useful lessons and experiences for today's legal and mediation/ADR officials, scholars and practitioners.; Methodologically, this study treats mediation as a dispute resolution system instead of a dispute resolution technique and adopts a broad conception of mediation that can accommodate both theoretical and practical differences between mediation in China and mediation in the US. However, it is not an attempt to provide an exhaustive record of all mediation practice in Chinese and American history. Rather, it focuses on major institutional mediation developments in both countries.; From a historical point of view, in spite of the fact that China has a long mediation tradition and the US a short one, modern mediation in the two countries seems to have developed during parallel periods. Both had achieved limited success in developing a modern mediation system before 1976. Most of their significant accomplishments came after 1976, a symbolic year when the Cultural Revolution in China came to an end and the so-called Pound Conference was held in the US. Although the modern mediation use in China and the US continue to be very different, they have been making common efforts in building modern mediation systems and searching for a better point of equilibrium among various dispute resolution methods (adjudication, mediation or other ADR mechanisms). The common outcome of their modern ADR/mediation advancement is a balanced and effective modern dispute resolution system in which both adjudication and mediation play appropriate roles.; Indeed, the very fact that mediation is widely used in societies as diverse as the US and China is strong evidence in itself that the core value of mediation as a dispute resolution method is suited to modern societies, and that mediation should have a place in every balanced and effective modern dispute resolution system. |
